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Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
End of Covid disaster movie as cinemas bounce back
Cinemas have posted their strongest first-half performance since the pandemic, defying fears that audiences had abandoned the big screen for good. From Bridget Jones to Captain America, cinemas have found their summer sequel: a real-life comeback story. UK and Ireland box office revenue in the first six months of 2025 reached £532.4 million, according to Comscore — a clear bounce back from recent years and a reversal of the steady post-Covid decline that had set in since cinemas fully reopened. That total is an 18 per cent rise on the same period last year. When comparing cumulative revenue totals across the first half of the year, 2025 has been ahead for all but one week compared with 2024. In the sole week when 2024 nudged in front, it was only by a mere 0.2 per cent. Since then, a strong summer showing has propelled 2025 to an impressive return year-on-year. The recovery is gaining momentum and is unlikely to slow down any time soon, according to experts. Gower Street Analytics forecasts the UK and Ireland box office will reach £1.2 billion this year — a 10 per cent jump on 2024 and 9 per cent ahead of 2023, marking a strong rebound as the market continues to close the gap with pre-pandemic levels. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said the UK performance echoed a wider global trend. 'A 16.5 per cent advantage over last summer's performance is a great place to be. With August looking particularly strong, I think we'll see this momentum continue,' he said, pointing to the cumulative impact of a robust summer slate. Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association, said the resurgence had been powered by a broad range of hits. A Minecraft Movie led the way, grossing £56.7 million, while Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (£46.4 million) and Lilo & Stitch (£35.3 million) both outstripped expectations. Other successes included Ryan Coogler's Sinners, which brought in £16.2 million. While some films underperformed, Clapp said the overall effect had been positive: cinema admissions were up 12 per cent and box office takings up 18 per cent on the year. Much has been made of the disappointing start made by the latest blockbuster, Superman, causing many to mistakenly see its struggles as a symbol of cinema's decline. The film opened with £6.9 million in the UK and Ireland — a noticeable drop from 2013's Man of Steel, which debuted with £11.2 million. 'The summer slate has really started to gear up, and there's still more to come — including Fantastic Four: First Steps,' he said, adding that high expectations now rest on tentpoles such as Wicked: For Good and Avatar: Ash and Water later this year. But insiders pointed to mitigating factors. Eduardo Leal, group director of screen content at Vue, said Superman's US performance had actually matched Man of Steel's. 'We're seeing external factors, like the heatwave, weighing on UK numbers, but the film has already picked up in the last few rainy days. We're optimistic it will track upwards,' he said. Analysts agree this year's success is partly structural. 'There's a much higher volume of films this year — levels recovered after 2022 but then dipped due to the [Hollywood writer] strikes,' said Leal. 'Now, they're looking really good again.' Many believe that this was an underappreciated fact, and that cinema was being written off far too hastily. Charles Gant, a film journalist and critic, said this year marked a return to a slow but steady recovery trend after 2024's flatlining. 'What we're seeing is continued gentle recovery, supercharged by strong releases,' he said.A Minecraft Movie and Bridget Jones gave early momentum, while summer saw an unusual run of back-to-back hits — F1: The Movie, Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman — giving cinemas a sustained lift. 'Success breeds success,' Gant said. 'Audiences come in, see trailers, build anticipation. That momentum's been missing since the pandemic.' But some familiar challenges remain. September looks patchy, with a slate of medium-sized releases and no guaranteed hits. Last year's fourth quarter, which featured heavyweights such as Wonka, rescued 2024's box office, and while this year's slate is strong, it may struggle to replicate that late surge. Leal believes the second half of the year will still deliver, especially with major franchise films in the pipeline, and predicts UK box office could match — or even possibly exceed — pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year. Gant struck a similar note of cautious optimism: 'It's been a long haul and we're still behind 2019, but 2025 is showing cinemas can bounce back when the right films come along.'


NBC News
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
'F1' is Apple's highest-grossing theatrical film ever
Lights out and away we go. 'F1: The Movie' hasn't even reached the checkered flag of its theatrical run, but it's already Apple's best film release ever. The film, distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery, zoomed past $293 million at the global box office over the weekend. This outpaced Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon,' which generated $221 million during its run in 2023, to become Apple's highest-grossing theatrical release. The tech company has only sent a handful of films to cinemas with wide releases since delving into the media business in recent years. 'Killers of the Flower Moon' tallied $158 million worldwide, 'Fly Me to the Moon' took in just $42 million and 'Argylle' generated $96 million in ticket sales globally. ″'F1' is an extremely important movie for Apple and for the industry at large,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. 'It's a perfect test case for how a streaming service can develop a film that's tailormade for the big screen while simultaneously promoting the film across the millions of small screens that their technological footprint puts directly in front of their subscribers.' 'F1' has benefitted greatly from its partnership with IMAX. Before production, Apple and the film's top creatives reached out to not only secure the use of IMAX's camera technology, but also a three-week release in its theaters. In fact, the 'F1' deal meant that Universal's 'Jurassic World Rebirth' didn't get a domestic IMAX release and was only featured on IMAX screens in China. That film will also appear in IMAX screens in Japan next month. 'F1' has generated $60 million of its total global haul from IMAX theaters, a little more than 20% of its total gross so far. Domestically, the film has generated $27.4 million in ticket sales through IMAX screenings, about 25% of the film's ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada. While the film is nearing $300 million in global ticket sales, it still has a few more laps to go in order to be profitable for Apple. The movie cost between $200 million and $300 million to make, according to reports, and an estimated $100 million to market. The studio is also splitting receipts with Warner Bros. and theaters. 'Naturally, a mega budget movie like 'F1' can have a rather long road to profitability given the various revenue splits with movie theaters and Warner Bros. as well, but Apple has the resources to and the cash reserves to take on that risk,' said Dergarabedian. For Apple, success looks very different than for traditional studios. Entertainment isn't the company's main revenue driver — not even close. Apple has a $3 trillion market cap and generates most of its revenue from its suite of tech devices. And Apple isn't just spending money on movies and television products to try and fuel sales of its phones, TVs and computers. 'We got into this business because we thought it would be a good business,' Apple services chief Eddy Cue said in a recent Bloomberg interview. 'And in order to continue to do great things, you need businesses to be profitable.' Apple has gained momentum in the pop culture space with shows like 'Ted Lasso,' 'Severance' and 'The Studio' and was the first streamer to win the best picture award at the Oscars for 2021′s 'Coda.'


CNBC
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
'F1' is Apple's highest-grossing theatrical film ever
Lights out and away we go. "F1: The Movie" hasn't even reached the checkered flag of its theatrical run, but it's already Apple's best film release ever. The film, distributed by Warner Bros. Discovery, zoomed past $293 million at the global box office over the weekend. This outpaced Ridley Scott's "Napoleon," which generated $221 million during its run in 2023, to become Apple's highest-grossing theatrical release. The tech company has only sent a handful of films to cinemas with wide releases since delving into the media business in recent years. "Killers of the Flower Moon" tallied $158 million worldwide, "Fly Me to the Moon" took in just $42 million and "Argylle" generated $96 million in ticket sales globally. "'F1' is an extremely important movie for Apple and for the industry at large," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. "It's a perfect test case for how a streaming service can develop a film that's tailormade for the big screen while simultaneously promoting the film across the millions of small screens that their technological footprint puts directly in front of their subscribers." "F1" has benefitted greatly from its partnership with IMAX. Before production, Apple and the film's top creatives reached out to not only secure the use of IMAX's camera technology, but also a three-week release in its theaters. In fact, the "F1" deal meant that Universal's "Jurassic World Rebirth" didn't get a domestic IMAX release and was only featured on IMAX screens in China. That film will also appear in IMAX screens in Japan next month. "F1" has generated $60 million of its total global haul from IMAX theaters, a little more than 20% of its total gross so far. Domestically, the film has generated $27.4 million in ticket sales through IMAX screenings, about 25% of the film's ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada. While the film is nearing $300 million in global ticket sales, it still has a few more laps to go in order to be profitable for Apple. The movie cost between $200 million and $300 million to make, according to reports, and an estimated $100 million to market. The studio is also splitting receipts with Warner Bros. and theaters. "Naturally, a mega budget movie like 'F1' can have a rather long road to profitability given the various revenue splits with movie theaters and Warner Bros. as well, but Apple has the resources to and the cash reserves to take on that risk," said Dergarabedian. For Apple, success looks very different than for traditional studios. Entertainment isn't the company's main revenue driver — not even close. Apple has a $3 trillion market cap and generates most of its revenue from its suite of tech devices. And Apple isn't just spending money on movies and television products to try and fuel sales of its phones, TVs and computers. "We got into this business because we thought it would be a good business," Apple services chief Eddy Cue said in a recent Bloomberg interview. "And in order to continue to do great things, you need businesses to be profitable." Apple has gained momentum in the pop culture space with shows like "Ted Lasso," "Severance" and "The Studio" and was the first streamer to win the best picture award at the Oscars for 2021's "Coda."


CNN
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘Jurassic World Rebirth' roars to top of the box office
Dinosaurs are alive and well at the box office as Universal's 'Jurassic World Rebirth' trampled competitors, grossing $147 million domestically over five days of the Fourth of July weekend. The fourth installment of the 'Jurassic World' series outperformed early estimates of nearly $80 million for the three days and $135 million for the five days. It nearly matched its predecessor from 2022, 'Jurassic World Dominion,' which grossed $145 million in its first three days before raking in over $1 billion worldwide. 'Jurassic World Rebirth' is another win for Hollywood, which has effectively rebounded from a sluggish start to 2025. The box office is up more than 14% year-to-date compared with last year, according to Comscore, which collects box office data. The summer season, which Comscore begins tracking on the first Friday in May, is faring even better — up 15% compared to 2024. 'Jurassic Park Rebirth' is the seventh film in the franchise, which began with Steven Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park' in 1993. The original movie would go on to gross $924 million worldwide, or $2 billion when adjusted for inflation. While 'Jurassic World' was a new era for the franchise, calling the fourth film 'Rebirth,' and casting Scarlett Johansson, likely reinvigorated the brand, according to Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore. 'This brand will never go extinct because it continues to thrill audiences,' he said. 'It's most impressive to have a franchise three decades old, topping the chart once again.' 'Jurassic World Rebirth' knocked Apple and Warner Bros. Pictures' 'F1' down a peg to No. 2. 'F1' grossed $26 million domestically this weekend, a 54% drop from the week prior. The racing movie starring Brad Pitt opened last weekend to roughly $55.6 million domestically and $144 million worldwide. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN. ''F1' is interesting because it's absolutely killing it at the international box office,' said Dergarabedian. '(It's) a sport that is more internationally centric than in the United States.' 'Jurassic World Rebirth' and 'F1' will face fierce competition next week when Warner Bros.' 'Superman' opens in theaters. Analysts expect 'Superman' to gross over $100 million in its opening weekend. 'The best thing for 'Superman' is the success of 'Jurassic' and 'F1.' The rising tide raises all ships,' said Dergarabedian. Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder and owner of Box Office Theory, said the releases of 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' 'Superman,' and Disney's 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' (July 25) could account for about a quarter of the domestic box office this summer. Robbins added that 'F1,' 'Jurassic World Rebirth' and 'Superman' will likely attract similar audiences of young men. 'Superman' could also appeal to families and younger audiences. 'It's summer. It's the time when multiple films can coexist, so if any of them are going to do it, this is a good set of movies to pull it off,' he said.


CNN
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Hollywood loves a comeback story: What the 2025 box-office rebound means for summer blockbusters
The movie industry hasn't caught many breaks in recent years, even after rebounding from the Covid-19 pandemic. Studios were faced with a writers' strike, blockbusters that fell well below expectations and dilemmas over when to release movies into theaters before having them stream online. The domestic box office continued a trend of getting the year off to a slow start, as January lacked a strong carryover movie from the holiday season or a surprise audience pleaser, renewing fears the industry faces long-term financial woes. The box office for January 1 to April 3 was down 13% compared to the same time last year, which in turn was down 7.6% compared with 2023. 'It's not like a hard-and-fast rule that the first three months are typically slow. Sometimes they can be huge if you have a big holdover movie and a couple of breakout hits,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore. The first major release of 2025 was Marvel's 'Captain America: Brave New World,' which opened in February to more than $100 million over the four-day Presidents Day holiday weekend, only to see its earnings plunge 68% in the second week. Things didn't improve much from there. In March, the box office was down nearly 50% compared with the same month last year, according to Comscore data. Ticket sales certainly weren't buoyed by Disney's 'Snow White,' which opened to a meager $43 million amid polarizing reactions about casting and politics. But then came the turnaround. April brought a wide variety of movies that drew in nostalgic audiences and moviegoers following positive buzz. Carrying much of the load for the month was Warner Bros. Pictures. The studio's 'A Minecraft Movie' debuted to nearly $163 million, while Ryan Coogler's highly acclaimed 'Sinners' has exceeded expectations with over $275 million in domestic sales. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN. Following the strong performance from 'Minecraft,' the industry had a record Memorial Day weekend that saw the box office up 22% compared with 2024. It was led by Disney's live-action 'Lilo & Stitch' remake opening to a record $183 million. 'Lilo & Stitch' has so far grossed over $380 million domestically and may soon overtake 'Minecraft' ($423.9 million) as this year's biggest earner. Other May winners include the big-budget Disney/Marvel movie 'Thunderbolts' ($189 million), Paramount's 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' ($173 million) and Warner Bros.' 'Final Destination: Bloodlines' ($133 million). The momentum has carried over into June with 'How to Train Your Dragon.' Universal's live-action remake has already grossed nearly $135 million since opening last weekend. The overall box office is closing in on $4 billion for all of 2025 — an 18% gain compared to this time last year, according to Comscore data. 2023 marked the first post-pandemic year to earn more than $4 billion between the first Friday of May and Labor Day, according to Comscore. Greg Durkin, founder of entertainment research firm Enact Insights, attributes the industry's comeback to a rise in quality films. And high-potential movies are about to be released. Warner Bros. Pictures' 'F1' and Universal Pictures' 'M3GAN 2.0' are set to open Friday. July will include Universal Pictures' 'Jurassic World Rebirth,' and Warner Bros.' 'Superman,' which Durkin said will be 'tremendous' hits at the box office. He added that Disney's July release of 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' will also do well. ''Superman' and 'Fantastic Four' and maybe to a degree 'Jurassic World,' will be big players' to nearly reach $4 billion this summer, said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder and owner of Box Office Theory. 'We're not selling Frosted Flakes or Coca-Cola … This is a product that reinvents itself every week,' said Daniel Loria, editorial director at Boxoffice Pro. Movies have 'fortunately' connected better with audiences, but it's still a 'risky business,' Loria added. Having a diverse movie slate can be helpful. Since April, moviegoers have had the choice of children and family movies ('How to Train Your Dragon' and 'Lilo & Stitch'), action flicks ('Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning'), horror ('Sinners') and romantic comedies ('Materialists'). 'The lineup goes on hot and cold streaks. Something can look good on paper but not work in release, and vice versa,' said box office analyst David A. Gross, who publishes FranchiseRe. Gross noted that even superhero movies, such as 'Captain America' and 'Thunderbolts,' haven't consistently performed well compared to pre-pandemic years. And while April and May helped this year's box office bounce back from a slow start, June will be down about 6.5% compared to last year and down almost 26% compared with the pre-pandemic average, according to estimates from Gross. 'The 'recovery' compared with last year is slipping, so it's not time to pop the champagne just yet,' Gross said. In times of broader political and economic uncertainty, Americans have shown they will pull away from expensive commitments and seek smaller pleasures. For some, that means trading in vacations and indulging in less expensive purchases. 'It's pretty cheap to go to a movie, relative to going to rent a house and get on a flight, or rent a car,' said Durkin. 'You still need that escapism.' The movie theater is a social experience, Durkin said, which makes it fulfilling and worthwhile. In Clarksdale, Mississippi — the town which inspired the setting of 'Sinners' — a special screening was hosted to allow locals in the theater-less town to watch the film together. Moviegoers are still 'price sensitive,' Loria said. Although premium offerings can price a single ticket as high as $25 in cities like New York and Los Angeles, theater chains such as AMC offer discount screenings on Tuesdays. On July 9, AMC will start offering 50% discounts on Wednesdays. 'It's a relatively inexpensive way to escape the outside world for a couple of hours,' said Dergarabedian, adding that PG-rated films have been 'booming' as families head to theaters. 'Looking at 2025 in a vacuum — what a great recovery,' he said. 'It's all product-based. It's the movies that determine the box office, not the month.'